The modern face of farming
An interesting piece in the paper yesterday was The Times’ science correspndent Rhys Blakely’s piece “Allotments in the office to lure staff from their gardens”.
In the article, Blakely presages a definite direction of travel for public and commercial buildings; and also a tactic for stemming the exodus of workers from offices - the addition of indoor plants and topiaries to otherwise lifeless corportate offices.
One of the first companies attempting to ride the UK office vegetation wave is Square Mile Farms, Blakely tells us. Square Mile was founded in 2018 with a clear mission staement — “We use vertical farming to help people and businesses be healthier and more sustainable”. The company’s raison d’étre is ‘Office Farming’ - installing and integrating urban farms in offices and public buildings around the UK. “We want to “transform our cities from grey to green”, according to their website. “We believe change starts with the individual… (so) clients pay us to install and manage farming units”.
With that mission statement in mind, it’s diffcult to deny that Square Mile have hitched themselves to the bandwagon at the right time.
